Year after year, inside the classrooms, research labs and care facilities of the University of Utah Health Sciences Center, we carry out our academic mission of educating and inspiring the eager minds of Utah's future health care practitioners. Taught by the finest academics in the country, tomorrow's doctors, nurses, dentists, pharmacists and other budding health care professionals come to us from every university and college in the state to learn how to provide the best clinical care, while getting closer to patients in the community.
As the only university health care system in Utah, we provide care for patients in four additional states in the Mountain West region. Therefore, it's our responsibility to train the next generation of providers who will be caring for patients in these areas, and this begins with community service. Over the last year, our students, faculty and staff delivered over $126 million in charity care. And a majority of our graduates, including two-thirds of the state's doctors, stay in Utah's urban and rural areas to continue that service throughout their professional lives.
With students from Utah State to Brigham Young University to Dixie State, and every major college and school in the state, we're training the next generation of providers to strengthen their existing community ties so we can improve the health of our state and the surrounding region we serve. Two students recently shared their perspectives on the importance of community service in their training, delivering a forceful testament to the positive impact our students are having outside the classroom.
First-year dental student Adam Hines is just one of the inspiring young minds in our industry. During his pre-med years at BYU, he served as a missionary in Panama and learned the importance of building relationships through community service. A fluent Spanish speaker, Adam shared that he was looking forward to connecting with the Latino population of Utah through his service in dental school, and says he wants his practice to be a place where the underserved can get the dental care they need.
Hailey Shepherd, a second-year medical student from Dixie State University, hopes for a career in academic medicine. She recalled the day when one of her most introverted high school students shouted his excitement at discovering that the inside of a gallbladder resembled a leaf. Witnessing this kind of awe and wonder in students has sparked a passion in her for giving back to the community through teaching.
The University of Utah Health Sciences is expanding the reach of students in the community, including providing new training opportunities throughout our great state. In May 2018, the University of Utah Physician's Assistance Program on the Dixie State campus plans to open its doors to 16 new students, and our College of Nursing offers one of the most extensive tele-education programs so that nurses across the state can advance their educations and work at the same time.
Since 1967, our university has trained more than 36,000 doctors, nurses, pharmacists, dentists, scientists and educators. The average primary care provider will see more than 150,000 patient visits during their career, the average surgeon will perform more than 25,000 operations, and the average obstetrician will delivery more than 13,000 new babies. Beyond the impact of the care they provide, our graduates have made significant contributions to research, to education, to business and to our communities in immeasurably positive ways.
More than just our obligation, we consider the education of Utah's future health care providers to be one of our greatest community responsibilities and contributions.
Vivian S. Lee, M.D., Ph.D., MBA, is the senior vice president for Health Sciences, dean of the School of Medicine, University of Utah, and CEO of University of Utah Health Care.
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